What Is Better To Lose Weight: Walking Outside Or On The Treadmill?

Walking outside often burns more calories than walking on a treadmill because sidewalks, streets and trails generally have more surface irregularities and inclines. Rough or hilly terrain will cause you to burn more energy per mile--in fact, the rougher the better, according to "The Complete Guide to Walking." However, you could lose more weight in the long run if you have a treadmill because walking outside can be inconvenient if the weather is bad or you need to monitor your children.

Calorie Count

Losing 1 lb. requires burning 3,500 calories more than you eat. You have to walk outside or on the treadmill for an hour per day for a few weeks to lose 1 lb. If you weigh 155 lbs. and walk for one hour, you will burn 372 calories walking 4.5 mph, 334 calories walking 4 mph and 298 calories walking 3.5 mph, according to the Harvard Heart Letter's July 2004 issue. Heavier people burn more calories in the same amount of time.

Benefits

Walking outside or on the treadmill are both excellent long-term exercises for weight loss because they cause far fewer injuries than better short-term weight-loss exercises such as jogging, according to "The Merck Manual of Medical Information." Walkers gain significantly less weight than nonwalkers during middle age, according to the Harvard Men's Health Watch's August 2009 issue. People seeking to lose weight lost 4 to 8 more lbs. within six months if they had a treadmill in their homes, "Guide to Walking" reported.

Effort

The number of calories you burn walking depends on your effort as well as speed because your heart rate increases when you work harder and a higher heart rate, in turn, indicates that you are burning more oxygen and fuel in the form of food energy and fat, wrote "Guide to Walking" author Mark Fenton. Walking up hills and walking on a treadmill when you set it to 'incline' expends more effort. Fenton estimates that you burn 52 percent more calories if you are walking on a 10 percent incline.

Expert Advice

Losing weight is easier when your technique is good. It's particularly important to increase the amount of steps you take per minute because you walk 4.5 mph when taking 140 steps per minute and 3.5 mph when taking 120 steps per minute whether walking outside or the treadmill, Fenton wrote. The longtime editor of "Walking" magazine wrote that treadmill walking can improve your technique because you can observe via a mirror whether your posture is tall and relaxed and your elbows are bent fewer than 90 degrees.

Convenience

Walking outside and treadmill walking is a good strategy for losing weight. You can walk outside when the weather is nice and you don't have to be home to answer phone calls or watch your children. However, confining yourself to walking outside is counterproductive if you live in a bad-weather locale and you often must stay home. Treadmill users are also more likely to take several short walks rather than one long one each day, wrote Fenton.